Urine testing stix
Human and animal diabetics both use ketostix or ketodiastix. These are reagent indicator strips that test urine for only ketone (ketostix) or for both ketones and glucose (ketodiastix). These stix are available at any brick-and-mortar or Internet pharmacy that sells human diabetic supplies. Stix do expire, so check the unopened expiration date when you buy them and record the date you open them. Keep the bottle tightly closed when not in use; prolonged exposure to air can produce false negative urine ketone test result.s Wal-Mart and Sam's Club sell a ReliOn branded urine ketone test strip made by Bayer, the maker of Ketostix. If the foil-wrapped Ketostix, rather than the ones in vials are purchased, you may find it less wasteful. After the bottle is opened, the remaining unused strips have only a 6 months' life. By using the foil-wrapped ones, you can extend the "life" of your purchase. The singly-wrapped ones can have a unopened expiration date of up to two years. You are then only using what you need when you need it, having the rest still sealed and potent until the indicated expiration date. Testing reasons You should test your pet's urine for ketones for the reasons discussed at ketones. You may test your pet's urine for glucose because you've been instructed to do so by the vet as a method of gauging regulation or your pet is undiagnosed and you want to determine whether there is hyperglycemia. Urine Glucose Testing Some reasons for preferring testing glucose levels by using blood over urine testing is that the urine used in testing may have been in the bladder for hours. Because of this, it may not be a reliable indicator of what systemic glucose levels are at the time of testing. What's seen when testing urine for glucose is an average of what the level of glucose has been over a period of about 5-8 hours (the time period from last urination). Urine testing also makes it more difficult to determine whether any hyperglycemia noted is the result of a Somogyi rebound pattern or a true need for an increase in insulin dosage. Urine only tests positive for glucose when the renal threshold has been exceeded for a length of time. There also must be some degree of glycosuria (glucose in urine) present in order for a urine test to detect development of hypoglycemia. With urine testing for glucose, getting a negative result means your pet is somewhere under the renal threshold of 180 mg/dl or 10 mmol. Glucose doesn't spill into the urine until at or above that point. This could mean he/she is in the euglycemic zone where all's well or that the dog is headed for the hypoglycemic one. Knowing that the pet's blood glucose levels are too low means that you can take action with a sugar source or some food to ward off a possible hypo episode. Reading Results Evaluating the results. The stix bottle has instructions and color charts to show you how the color on the stix will change given the level of ketones/glucose in the urine over 15 (ketones-Ketostix) or 30 (glucose-Ketodiastix) seconds. Be sure to read the colors at those time intervals because the colors will continue to darken and a later reading will be an incorrect result. Timing with a clock or watch second hand instead of counting is said to be more accurate. It's important to time the test accurately and not take into account any color changes on the Ketostix strip which occur after 15 seconds. * If you see a "trace" or more of ketones, see ketones. When testing urine for ketones, the sample needs to be as fresh as possible. Ketones evaporate quickly, so there's a chance of getting a false negative test result if you're testing older urine. At low levels, ketones can be detected in the urine (ketonuria) before they are found in the blood (ketonemia/ketonaemia). * The glucose portion of the stix measures your pet's glycosuria--that is, the glucose that has collected in your pet's bladder since s/he last urinated. If you see any color change in the glucose portion of the stix, that means that your pet has exceeded its renal threshold since it last urinated. The darker the color, the higher your pet's BG level has been since its last urination. Note that positive urinary glucose results are not indicative of your pet's blood glucose level at the time it urinated. No meaningful conversion between urine glucose and blood glucose readings is possible. * If you are testing urine for glucose, the time you test likely affects results in this way: mid-day urine glucose tests would reflect the nadir of glucose in the system--this also represents the peak of the insulin. Morning urine glucose tests are frequently high. Seeing negative urine glucose test, especially repeated negative ones, can mean the pet is approaching hypoglycemia. Good BG Readings but Positive Ketone Results When the bg readings are high enough to produce some ketones, you've taken action to bring them down and they are normal once more, it is possible to still see some positive urine ketone test results. Ketones show up in the urine right away. When you're getting normal bg readings, it means that there are no more ketones being produced. What you are seeing when you test urine for ketones and the blood glucose is in normal ranges are the "leftovers" of the ketones which were produced by the high bg episode. They will continue to show up in the urine for a while but their concentration will become less and less until they're gone. False Testing Results-Urine Glucose If your pet is taking any type of vitamin supplements, it should be noted on his or her medical records. Knowing that he/she is using them means being able to factor them into interpretations of test results. False Testing Results-Urine Ketones If your pet is taking any type of vitamin supplements, it should be noted on his or her medical records. Knowing that he/she is using them means being able to factor them into interpretations of test results. Getting samples fSkoqeuKAJc Tips on how to collect a urine sample. How to catch urine. Some people place the stix under their pet's stream when s/he is urinating. Others catch urine in a dedicated spoon, ladle, or other collection device and dip the stix into the urine. Intervet has internet pages with some ideas for performing urine tests on dogs. More tips on collecting uring samples for dogs. References More Information *Urinanalysis: Obtaining a Urine Sample Drs. Foster & Smith Pet Education Library *Urinalysis Dipstick Interpretation Sine, Cheryl, et. al. 2003, University of Georgia How to read multi-screen urine testing strips. *Introduction to Urinary System Merck Veterinary Manual *Laboratory tests *How Urine Dipsticks Work and Possible Quality Control Problems *Urinalysis Using Test Strips Chronolab *Urine Glucose Test Information-Multistix Cornell University *Urine Ketone Test Information-Multistix Cornell University *Urine Sample Collection Tips ProVet UK *How home blood and urine tests measure blood glucose Wikipedia *Diabetes Control-Insulin Richards, Mike, Vet Info 4 Dogs *Weight Loss Secrets *Dog ear infection *Pancreatitis in dogs *Ivermectin for dogs Online Videos *Cornell University-Feline Health Center-Urine Monitoring Flash Movie How to Read Ketone Test Strips. 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